July 31, 2010

Posts Comments

You are here: Home / Archives for

Apple Job Posting Hints at ‘Revolutionary’ New Feature in Mac OS X

July 30, 2010 By Alex Jordan 1 Comment

AppleInsider has pointed out a job posting on Apple’s website seeking a software engineer to work on a “revolutionary” new feature in Mac OS X.

We are looking for a senior software engineer to help us create a revolutionary new feature in the very foundations of Mac OS X. We have something truly revolutionary and really exciting in progress and it is going to require your most creative and focused efforts ever.

and

Are you looking to help create something totally new? Something that has never been done before and will truly amaze everyone? Are you excited by the prospect that what you helped create would be used every day by millions of Apple customers? Then come and work on with the Mac OS X software engineering team to help build a new and revolutionary feature for Mac OS X.

As usual, the job posting is very vague, and the only hint as to what the feature might focus on comes from the qualifications Apple is seeking in their new employee. That is, experience with HTTP and other similar protocols. So, this will likely be an internet-driven feature.

Of course, there is still no word when Mac OS X 10.7 might see the light of day. Not one word was mentioned of it this year at WWDC.

Absolutely shocking news right? Apple is working on Mac OS X 10.7 and it’s going to have new features. Who would have thought.

Filed Under All News, OS X, Software

Apple Still Being Pressured By Japanese Government Over First-Gen iPod Nano Fire Issues

July 30, 2010 By Alex Jordan Leave a Comment

The Wall Street Journal is reporting that the Japanese government is still pressuring Apple regarding the first-generation iPod Nano risk of overheating, and possibly catching fire.

The ministry is requesting Apple Japan to explain the cause of overheating, whether similar incidents have been reported domestically and abroad and what prevention and cautionary measures have been taken to counter such incidents, according to Seiji Shimagami, a ministry official who works in consumer product safety.

The order came following an incident in Tokyo that took place on July 13, when sparks flew from a user’s device while it was recharging, according to Masahiro Yamazaki, the head of the consumer product safety unit at METI.

The Japanese bureaucracy in charge of consumer oversight has documented 27 instances of sparks flying from the devices while being charged. Six of these incidence have occurred since a consumer warning was issued two years ago.

“iPods are incredibly well designed and safety is the highest priority for Apple. We are taking METI’s letter in regard to the first generation iPod nano very seriously and are working closely with them to answer their concerns,” Apple said in a statement.

We heard a similar story from South Korea this time last year, and Apple has told concerned customers to contact the company with any questions, all while acknowledging the possibility of overheating in their support document.

Filed Under All News, Hardware, iPod

Quick Note: New Mac Pros To Begin Shipping August 9th

July 30, 2010 By Alex Jordan Leave a Comment

MacRumors is reporting that Apple has stated via several different communications outlets, that the company will begin taking orders for the new Mac Pros they announced earlier this week, on August 9th.

While Apple will begin taking orders on August 9th, it is not yet confirmed that machines will actually begin shipping on that date. Representatives have claimed, however, that the August 9th date will be for actual orders and not for a pre-order program, suggesting that orders should begin shipping fairly soon after that date.

The way this whole thing is being phrased suggests that the new Mac Pro won’t be available for pre order, but will instead actually go on sale on August 9th. Have your credit cards ready.

Filed Under All News, Hardware

Apple Aware of iOS 4 Performance Problems on iPhone 3G

July 29, 2010 By Alex Jordan Leave a Comment

The Wall Street Journal is reporting that Apple is “looking into” the issues being experienced by some iPhone 3G users running iOS 4 on their device. Many symptoms experienced by affected users include: slower system responsiveness, battery draining, and overheating.

The most common criticism is that the phone is slow after an upgrade. There are also many complaints that the phone drains the battery quickly and becomes excessively hot. Concern about general problems such as slowness and battery life on gadgets isn’t unusual, but using iOS 4 on the iPhone 3G seems to make the problems so bad that the phone is nearly unusable for some people.

Of course, Apple has made it clear from an early stage that not all of iOS 4’s features are supported on iPhone 3G and second-gen iPod touches because of hardware restrictions, but many users appear to be experiencing unacceptable performance from their devices.

As John Gruber points out however, it appears that a DFU restore of your iPhone 3G goes a long way to relieve some of the issues.

Filed Under All News, Hardware, Software, iOS, iPhone

Light Leakage Causing White iPhone 4 Delays?

July 29, 2010 By Alex Jordan Leave a Comment

Scott Moritz has throws his two cents in, and believes the white iPhone 4 has been delayed due to light leakage issues around the device’s edge.

Apparently, the back light from the iPhone display screen is leaking out around the edges of the glass and seeping through the back of the white phone, according to a person familiar with the manufacturing process.

According to the report, the white backing has a lower opacity than it’s black sibling, and thus allows more light to seep through. Additionally, the glass backings make it more difficult to seal the edges, which in turn allows more light through.

On the one hand, this would tie in well with the paint issue that some believe is holding up the white iPhone 4 model. On the other hand, we’ll likely never be able to prove Mr. Moritz wrong, and in which case he appears more knowledgeable than he actually is. Moritz has been wrong many, many times in the past about Apple.

Filed Under All News, Hardware, iPhone

Quick Note: Safari Update Fixes AutoFill Security Bug

July 29, 2010 By Alex Jordan Leave a Comment

It appears that the Safari 5.0.1 update fixes the AutoFill security bug that we reported on last week. The flaw allowed malicious websites to gain access to users’ Address Book information via Safari’s AutoFill feature.

Impact: Safari’s AutoFill feature may disclose information to websites without user interaction

Description: Safari’s AutoFill feature can automatically fill out web forms using designated information in your Mac OS X Address Book, Outlook, or Windows Address Book. By design, user action is required for AutoFill to operate within a web form. An implementation issue exists that allows a maliciously crafted website to trigger AutoFill without user interaction. This can result in the disclosure of information contained within the user’s Address Book Card. To trigger the issue, the following two situations are required. First, in Safari Preferences, under AutoFill, the “Autofill web forms using info from my Address Book card” checkbox must be selected. Second, the user’s Address Book must have a Card designated as “My Card”. Only the information in that specific card is accessed via AutoFill. This issue is addressed by prohibiting AutoFill from using information without user action. Devices running iOS are not affected. Credit to Jeremiah Grossman of WhiteHat Security for reporting this issue.

The reporter, Mr. Grossman, reported the issue to Apple on June 17th, but went public with the find just last week. Apple acknowledged the flaw soon after, and stated that a fix was on the way.

Filed Under All News, Software

Apple Now Offering iAd Placements to App Developers

July 29, 2010 By Alex Jordan Leave a Comment

Jacqui Cheng of Ars Technica has pointed out that Apple has changed it’s iAd developer page, now offering developers the chance to advertise their App Store applications through the iAd advertising platform.

You can now purchase iAd advertising to promote your app to millions of users across the iAd Network. With iAd for Developers, users can download apps from the App Store without leaving the app they’re in. It’s easy to get started, contact us today and learn how you can drive more downloads of your app with iAd for Developers.

iAds launched early this month featuring ads from large corporations such as Nissan and Target, with Apple rumored to be charging as much as $1 million for placements. It appears however that Apple is opening up the service to small firms, and app developers that wish to promote their wares.

Filed Under All News, Developers, Software, iOS

Apple Releases Safari 5.0.1, Now Officially Supports Extensions

July 29, 2010 By Alex Jordan Leave a Comment

Apple has released Safari 5.0.1, which now fully supports browser extensions, a feature that was present in Safari 5, but only in developer mode.

Apple today released Safari® 5.0.1, turning on Safari Extensions and introducing the Safari Extensions Gallery. Apple introduced extensions support in Safari 5 in June so developers could begin creating extensions with HTML5, CSS3 and JavaScript web standards. With Safari Extensions Gallery, users can quickly find extensions that add powerful new features to Safari, from toolbars that display live web feeds to sophisticated programs that filter web content. Safari 5.0.1 allows users to download and install extensions either from the Safari Extensions Gallery or directly from a developer’s site.

“Safari 5 has been a big hit, and user response to the innovative new Safari Reader has been fantastic,” said Brian Croll, Apple’s vice president of OS X Product Marketing. “We’re thrilled to see so many leading developers creating great extensions and think our users are going to love being able to customize Safari.”

Developers have had a month to whip up some extensions for Safari, and Apple has launched a Safari Extensions Gallery to showcase the best of breed. Many large companies like Twitter, Amazon, eBay, The Weather Channel (along with smaller developers as well) have used this opportunity to make extensions.

From what I’ve seen, some of the extensions are junky, but the overwhelming majority look useful. My favorite is Ostrich (I’ve been using it for a while now), a Twitter extension.

To be honest, it’s kind of amazing it’s taken Apple this long to bring extensions to Safari. Firefox has been doing it for years now.

Filed Under All News, Software

Quick Note: Apple Releases iOS 4.1 Beta 2 to Developers

July 28, 2010 By Alex Jordan Leave a Comment

Apple has released iOS 4.1 Beta 2 to developers, just two weeks after the first beta was released. The last release introduced some minor new features, but nothing earth-shattering. This release appears to offer less, by only including minor bug fixes.

An odd exclusion however, is that Apple still hasn’t included a fix for the proximity sensor issues being seen by some iPhone 4 customers. This is in spite of the fact that Apple has publicly stated that a fix would be issued in a future update.

Filed Under All News, Developers, Software, iOS

MagicTrackpad Update Brings Inertial Scrolling and Three-Finger Drag Gesture To Older Notebook Models

July 28, 2010 By Alex Jordan Leave a Comment

As MacRumors points out, Apple has released a software update that is required for the newly released MagicTrackpad to function when paired with your Mac. That same update however, also offers inertial scrolling to some older MacBook and MacBook Pro models. Inertial scrolling of course, debuted when the current MacBook Pro models were released last spring. The update also offers a three-finger window dragging gesture as well.

The MacBook Air and “Early 2008″ MacBook Pro models only gain the inertial scrolling feature, but all other Apple notebook models made since then can support these new gestures.

Here are the supported models as seen in Apple’s official support document:

Inertial Scrolling and Three-Finger Drag Gesture Support

These Mac portables support inertial scrolling and the three-finger drag gesture after you install Magic Trackpad and Multi-Touch Trackpad Update 1.0:

MacBook
MacBook (13-inch, Early 2009)
MacBook (13-inch, Mid 2009)
MacBook (13-inch, Late 2009)
MacBook (13-inch, Aluminum, Late 2008)

MacBook Pro
MacBook Pro (17-inch, Mid 2010)
MacBook Pro (15-inch, Mid 2010)
MacBook Pro (17-inch, Mid 2009)
MacBook Pro (15-inch, 2.53 GHz, Mid 2009)
MacBook Pro (15-inch, Mid 2009)
MacBook Pro (13-inch, Mid 2009)
MacBook Pro (17-inch, Early 2009)
MacBook Pro (17-inch, Late 2008)

The following Mac portables support inertial scrolling after installing Magic Trackpad and Multi-Touch Trackpad Update 1.0:

MacBook Air
MacBook Air
MacBook Air (Mid 2009)

MacBook Pro
MacBook Pro (15-inch, Early 2008)
MacBook Pro (17-inch, Early 2008)

Inertial scrolling requires little explanation. You can think of it as the “rubber-banding” users experience when scrolling through a webpage in Mobile Safari on any of Apple’s iOS devices.

Filed Under All News, Hardware
« Older Posts